In addition to John Robson being a fine and talented musician, he was also classy, well-mannered, kind, caring, funny, strong in character, and sensitive. I got to know him more personally through private correspondences. We confided in each other our thoughts, worries, desires, and he had this uncanny knack of sensing when I needed a shoulder to cry on. He had my shoulder to cry on, as well. I saved all of my personal messages and letters from John, for which I am glad. His encouragement and the wisdom in his words will no doubt continue to give me comfort.

I highly respected John and feel fortunate to have been able to call him my friend. I already miss him dearly.

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

Yes I can confirm all that (except the crying bit which we never did).

John was that kind of guy - impossible not to like, and hard to not become friends with. I guess many of you had a special relationship with him. He never failed to emphasize how much being part of PS meant to him and how much it helped to give a new meaning to his life. His brother Charles, who brought us the sad news yesterday, specifically thanked us for that. I'm pretty sure John had instructed him to do this, which would seem very typical of him.

• If you think it sounds OK on the second glass of wine, you should hear how great it sounds on
the fourth!

• John, remind yourself to look up the word "little" in a thesaurus

• OK, I promise not to use "some" for a week. LOL

• For heaven sakes, Pianolady, STAY IN YOUR CAR! You'll be taken to an institution if you jump
out of your car in a car wash and start yelling.

• A "Wow" from Chris Breemer is definitely something I pay attention to.

• Robert, I hope your twelve-year-old neighbor with the long fingers is very ugly!

• Forgive me, friends. I accidentally posted my reaction to the Mozart Sonata. I thought I was still in
the Audition Room..................X@ZZ#@#%$@$%^@$!XXZ#$!@~!!!!!!!!!

• When I heard the very beginning, I answered in a singing voice, "I'm over here-----------."
Doesn't it sound like a child singing, "Where are you"?

• Ha-ha-he-he-he-ho-ho-SNORT-ha-ha............Painolady, your translation reads like the English
directions on a product made in Korea.

• Green schmule rules? I'm totally lost in this trend of thought

• Makes me want to go out with someone special for cocktails and intimate conversation

• What's a "mishit"? (Reminds me of my dog when he was a puppy.)

• When I try to listen the way I always did, it says I have to download a Codex. What the hell is a
Codex on a computer? I think there might be a ghost in my computer fooling around with me.

• For some reason it feels good to have a complete set. I only have a very few of them. I'm no
Chris Breemer!

• Please excuse me for screaming but MONICA, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S YOU PLAYING THIS!

Juufa wrote:

I am quite glad that I sold him my edirol recorder so that he could record a wide variety of pleasing music.

I had forgotten that, J. He had a bit of trouble figuring out how to work it in the beginning. I think you forgot to give him the instruction manual or something like that. Or maybe he was just like all typical men – they never read the instructions first.

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

I am sad that John passed away and I think that he was still very young. What he just wanted was play piano and now that he retired he had the time but didn't last much.

I have CDs recordings of him in my car that I use to hear every single day and then talking about it with him and I have his advices printed out to me follow when I am practicing. It's hard to read them now...

He was a great guy always with a good word for everybody and a great pianist.

I am sad that John passed away and I think that he was still very young. What he just wanted was play piano and now that he retired he had the time but didn't last much.

I have CDs recordings of him in my car that I use to hear every single day and then talking about it with him and I have his advices printed out to me follow when I am practicing. It's hard to read them now...

He was a great guy always with a good word for everybody and a great pianist.

His favorite month was November in Miami.

R.I.P. John.

Thanks Guest. You are very right. I think many people here feel the same and I hope more people will react.

But why don't you identify yourself ? The possibility to post anonymously was an oversight of mine which I've corrected. Would you mind registering and making yourself known ?

John posted a kind reply when I submitted my first recording here two years ago, writing about sensitive phrasing and dynamics. I think this was an important aspect of his own playing, which we can foud both in his recordings of rare piano music, from Honegger for instance, and in the ones of famous works, like these Chopin preludes that he offered to us only two months before he died. At that time, he wrote

Quote:

Here are a few pieces that I've always loved. I don't have a lot of energy right now, so I hope you don't mind too much that they are "repeats."

I miss John cordially. He was one of my first listeners here on PS and the first thing I did, when I posted my first recording, was to listen to his recording of the Italian Concerto by Bach. He had submitted it on PS before I began my membership here with my complete recording of the same work. He has written very kind words to my recording and I have admired his because of its great musicality. Since the one and a half year I´m a member here I have listened to many of his recordings and I always have appreciated his musicality and his honest musicianship. I have also admired his brave struggle against the injury of his hand. It didn´t lower the high quality of his musical expression in any way. We all can be glad to have his beautiful recordings saved on this site!

I was shocked and saddened to learn of John Robson's passing, and am glad that Chris started this electronic memorial to him. John had been a member of Piano Society well before I joined about a year ago. Thereafter, John was occasionally absent from the site due to injury and serious health issues, so I did not get to know him nearly as well as some of the other members. But I have greatly admired John's pianistic interpretations and artistry. He played with a beautiful expressiveness and sensitivity.

My own earliest recordings here resulted from an effort to raise awareness of the forgotten composer Sergei Bortkiewicz. John not only listened, but took a personal interest in the project. To my surprise he learned and recorded the complete Pensees Lyriques, Op. 11 of Bortkiewicz. I was delighted to say the least! He served the composer very well and made a fine contribution to the Piano Society archives. I'll never forget John's thoughtfulness in that regard.

John will be remembered and greatly missed. Fortunately we have his very substantial legacy of fine recordings which members and visitors to Piano Society will continue to enjoy. Rest in peace, John.

David April

_________________"Interpreting music means exploring the promise of the potential of possibilities." David April

It's very sad to hear about someone's passing away and even more so when this someone was a fellow member of our small online community. However, I believe that musicians are somewhat special as they leave a part of them behind in the form of their work and recordings. This way, they can be remembered and continue to be admired and perhaps influence and inspire others in the future.

I didn't have the chance to know John personally which I regret deeply, but judging from his recordings, I am certain that he was a fine man and a talented pianist. Undoubtedly a great loss for his own people and for all of us here.

In times like that it would be useful for us remaining on the precarious journey of life to recollect the famous quote by the ancient rhetorician, Isocrates:

"Μηδενί συμφοράν ονειδίσης. Κοινή γαρ η τύχη και το μέλλον αόρατον"

which can be paraphrased as:
"Do not blame or mock anyone for their disaster (thinking that it can't or won't ever happen to you). Fortune is common to all and the future is invisible"

It’s difficult for me to put into words what I feel about John’s death. I didn’t know him well, just the talking on PS forums and a few emails mostly about the left hand repertoire, and yet the sense of loss is great, as always happens when you share so strongly a passion. Then realize that his time has ended and could well be your time instead, so what you do at the piano, using up all your spare time saved from work and mundane activities, becomes again of paramount importance.

Ciao John, ti sia lieve la terra.

_________________"A conclusion is simply the place where you got tired of thinking" - Anonymous

I'm just now seeing this. How tragic! I really wish I'd been around more so I could have known John a little better. From the short exchanges we had, I could tell he was a REALLY nice guy and most devoted musician.

As you may have noticed, John Robson has passed away. I am creating this thread to have a place for any reactions or questions you may want to post.

- Chris

Great John, honour to your life and pianism. Honour to your generous and intelligent approach to music. I'm proud of the reciprocal attention and esteem about our recordings here.
Bye John, thank you by heart.

Although I didn't know him personally, he was one of those who have posted a couraging reply to my first recording on PS and I was one of those who were always interested in his new recordings and deeply impressed by his musicianship and devotedness to the music. My favorite recordings of him include his playing Ravel, Schostakovitsch, Moszkowski and Chopin.
His contributions in the forum and his recordings on PS show us the very model of every enthusiastic amateur pianist, who plays the piano just for music's sake. And I am very happy to have found such a model on PS. Thanks John sincerely and rest in peace.

_________________Hye-Jin Lee"The love for music. The respect for the composer. The desire to express something that reaches and moves the listener." (Montserrat Caballé about her main motivation for becoming a singer)

I was very sad to find in my email inbox the news that our friend and fellow piano enthusiast John has passed away. Although I greatly enjoy the wonderful community at Piano Society I have not been among the most active members. Nevertheless, I remember John from many conversations in the forums. We have listened to several of each others' recordings and looking into my private message archive I found that we have also had a nice private discussion about Mozart's a minor sonata. It's so sad to read this little text (now over two years old) and to realize that he is no longer with us. I read through the memories posted everybody in this thread and it's nice to see that all of us have some personal memories with him (Monica, thanks for the snippets from his postings, it shows what a good sense of humour he had). He will not be forgotten here, and I firmly believe that when the time has come we will all unite for the grand recital in Heaven. My deepest sympathies to the family of John, including his brother Charles.

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